The budget for 2015-16 shows a budgeted salary of $270,000. That's a raise of $20,000 but I haven't heard a peep about it. Take that together with his $25,000 bonus and $10,800 car allowance and his total salary is $305,800 for the 2015-16 year.

The president of ENMU is operating under the salary disadvantage of having been in his job since 2001, and seems to be underpaid by current standards. I'm guessing that when he is replaced, the salary will jump up to well over what the WNMU president is paid.

The President of Eastern had his contract extended in June 2015. His salary remained the same at $211,039 a year with no bonus. At the time his contract was extended the President of Western received $250,000 salary, a bonus of $25,000 and a car allowance of $10,800. Maybe the President and Regents of Eastern just settled on a reasonable salary for the job, even though Eastern is about twice the size of Western.

The purpose of the post was not to discuss Eastern, but to wonder why the President of Western has a budget salary of $270,000 in the 2015-16 budget. Did he receive an unannounced increase in salary? Did the President of Western read Trump's book "The Art of the Deal"?

When is the last time you read the University budget? It's only 183 pages long. Do you know where to find a copy of the budget?

This is like the $25,000 bonus given to the President in September. Not a peep in the Regents meeting. The President's contract is public information, but how do you know a bonus has been awarded so you want to see if it conforms to the contract?

When's the last time you sent in a public records request to the University?

Your point is taken, Al. I have never read the budget, do not know where the WNMU budget is found, and have never made a public records request. Mine was a logical point. Given NM sunshine laws (OMA and IPRA), and given that a budget exists, I logically concluded it is not a "secret" ... But it might as well be, since I have not found it, requested it, or read it.

I would like ALL NM state employee salaries, including NM faculty, administrators, coaches and university presidents, to be capped at, or below, the annual salary of Governor Susana Martinez: $110,000 (with no special extra-salarial bonuses or allotments for cars, housing, pizza parties, liquor, etc.).

I don't dislike Western, what I'm concerned about is the mismanagement of Western by the present administration. Five years ago Western cost a little more than Highlands and a little less than Eastern. Now Western costs about $600 a semester more than both of them. No one in the administration will explain why Western costs so much.

As for the past administrations of Western. You understand that Presidents have absolute power at the University. As the old saying goes absolute power corrupts absolutely. Every President Western had, after a short time, would not tolerate any disagreement. Western has had Presidents that have been known to throw chairs at people that disagreed with him. And another President that eliminated the Spanish Department because one of the members opposed a decision.

But the real problem is the Board of Regents, most of them live in Albuquerque and have little interest in what's going on at Western. They simply rubber stamp whatever recommendations the administration makes. The Board is suppose to represent the people of New Mexico, but try to communicate with them. Their address, e-mail and telephone numbers are treated as top secret. And even if you get to communicate with them, they never respond. They won't explain why Western costs so much.

I see. You say you don't dislike Western, just the present administration. But then you list myriad problems you allege with many or all previous administrations and even with the regents. Q.E.D. In your view, all the governors over all the years consistently made a breathtaking number of poor regent appointments. No, let's face it, you just deeply dislike Western.

Way to kill the messenger. Milligan points out that the administration costs continue to skyrocket without the promised increase in enrollment, which could fund such extravagant leadership salaries and incentives. To attack Milligan is a smokescreen tactic to obscure the truths he consistently points out. His math and research has been spot on, when the administration's calculations and reporting on all fronts has been woefully inaccurate. In fact, Milligan has corrected their math on multiple occasions. If WNMU was smart, the administration would hire him as a consultant so their calculations don't keep coming out WRONG.

Since you can't argue Milligan's facts, you argue with his stance. He isn't angry, he's well informed and broadcasting his views to the public, which I know appreciates his research and watchdog tactics. I saw the protesting student body cheer and clap when he spoke at the groundbreaking of the Global Resource Center, the only faculty/administrator they gave such consideration and respect to during that event.

Instead of calling him angry, why don't you focus on the real issue he has uncovered? $20,000 is a lot of money when a promised 25% increase in enrollment to support such an salary boost has yet to occur. The WNMU president gets more money than Eastern's, which has a much higher enrollment and larger facilities. This is our tax money being spent, and as a resident I expect a lot for the bloated salary that lands the WNMU President in the category of the Top 1% of Earners in Grant County. At WNMU rates, you could hire over five to six new faculty at full time with benefits, and stop paying PhDs poverty level wages as adjuncts, for the amount of the president's new salary and incentive package. If the regents want to see outcomes, tie the president's raises to enrollment increases or, even better, to the percent of students that successfully start at WNMU and graduate, then the president would have a vested interest in the success of the students.

Also, almillgan, please consider the negative impact you have on the university foundation, which is increasingly your target. This can harmfully impact fund-raising for endowments and scholarships. That's not helpful. Your recent letter to a local newspaper about the foundation was replete with serious errors, not the least of which was the outrageous statement that the foundation director now reports to the president. Wrong. Totally incorrect. Just one more example: You artfully imply the foundation is using endowed monies for the president's contingency fund. Wrong again. One hundred percent in error. And likely illegal. Tragically, you then assault the competency of the foundation board members since they are unaware of these alleged improprieties. Of course they are unaware. That's because it's not happening. I rest my case. I hold no illusion I will change your long term dislike of the institution.

Board of Regents meeting December 10, 2015 minutes under Foundation Report: "President Shepard added that the Foundation Board adjusted its bylaws to have the Executive Director report to the President".

If you want to find out about the financials of the Foundation that a look at the University Foundation audits available at the State Auditor's Office.

For example in the June 30, 2015 Statement on page 14 under Expenses you'll find President's Discretionary $52,542.

You know the Foundation takes a percent of all funds under its control for expenses. You can find that percentage in the audit report.

I know a great deal of the information in my posts are hard to believe, but I don't make them up.

No, The foundation bylaws do not state the director reports to the president. The director reports to the VP for Business and to the foundation board president.Yes, the state auditor does have the financials. That's standard.Yes, the report states the president's discretionary fund. It should.Yes, the foundation takes a percentage from the portfolio for operations. Very typical.

Are you saying that the official approved minutes of the Board of Regents are in error?

Foundation Policies are under the President's Office not the VP of Business.

I've discussed the Director reporting to the President with some members of the Board of Directors and they agreed that the bylaws had been changed and they have very little control over any business of the Fondation.

elektron: I didn't realize when I made my last post, you're accusing President Shepard of making a false statement to the Board of Regents. I thought I was the only one that did that. I guess we agree on lots of things.

It's quite possible, I think, to be a fan of the university while not being an admirer of the person who's running it.

I never saw a chair thrown by the president Al is referring to when I worked at Western, but I did witness him losing his temper and throwing a paper weight across the room, narrowly missing one of his upper level staff members. One of the things that made that president crazy was an activist regent who decided she could get in on the day to day operations of the U. It might be that having regents who take a hands off approach might be a lesser evil, depending on who the president is.

As I recall, John Counts was making about $220K a year when he retired, so he, too, was likely making more than the presidents of Highlands and Eastern. It's entirely possible that they're underpaid, as opposed to Shepard making too much. They need to get a raise.

The question isn't if President Shepard's salary is too high or too low. The question is do we really know what his salary is.

In the 2014-15 University budget President Shepard's salary is budgeted at $250,000, but the budget says his actual salary was $264,167. That's $14,167 more than his advertized salary. In the 2015-2016 budget, the President's salary is budgeted at $270,000. According to the budget this is all salary, no other types of compensation.

So what is the President's real salary? Does he have an escalator clause in his contract that gives him unannounced salary increases?

Remember his bonus in September, if you did not have inside info no one would have ever known he received that bonus.

I have an Inspection of Public Records request into the University, but so far they have declined to comment. The University is now in violation of the Inspection of Public Records law.

in my youth I thought organizations could be run successfully by groups of people who had aligned themselves around a set of common goals. come to discover, however, that in almost every instance, the wildly successful organizations are run by people of vision and drive, commitment and sacrifices. people who will pick themselves up after a defeat and plunge ahead, never losing sight of the long term and the routes to get there.

is dr. shepard such a person? is his salary out of line?

in my brief experience as a part time student I've seen satisfiers and their opposite, but doing a bit of math : say there's 2000 students. divide that number into shepard's salary. $10. or now $15. yes i'm rounding a bit.

yep, Al you're right.that's more than us geezers pay to take one class.Our out of pocket expense.perhaps you know what the state kicks in for us.

p.s. not a rounding error as you kindly put it but a significant digit !

since you are interested in the affairs of Western, perhaps you would be interested in the proposal PNM made to the Regents to install solar electric on campus and "save $38,000 yearly". since I've witnessed people who might otherwise be considered nice and compassionate screw the poor and conserving on their water bills and recently want to double our basic rates for electric, this proposed deal might be more of the same.

If I were looking to do a solar project, PNM would be the last company I'd turn to. Solar projects at WNMU could save a lot of money, but I'd look to the company that did the Town's solar for well pumps or one of the many local or regional solar installers. Don't ask the fox to build your chicken coop.

ynotwrite2: A good approximation to state appropriation per hour is twice the University tuition. Tuition for one hour is $155 so the state provides about $300 per hour.

Very little information on the solar deal is available, but I've never seen a University project live up to the advertised savings. One of the primary goals of University projects is for the administrators to get their picture taken in front of the project so the picture can be included in their resume.

If you take a look at two recent projects: Mustang Village Planned cost $11 million, final cost $16.5 million. Student Fitness Center ran out of money before completing the outside part of the project (soundstage, basketball court, volleyball court, and walking path).

The answer to the question, "Did President Shepard get a secret $20,000 raise"? is

YES, At the Oct 14, 2014 Regent's meeting when the Regents extended the President's contract and gave him a guaranteed $25,000 a year bonus, which they didn't mention. They ,also, increased his salary by $20,000 to $270,000. Which they, also, did not mention. Not effective July 1, 2015 when his contract ran out but effective on Oct 14,2014. It appears that the operations of the University are as opaque as ever.

That's an 8% increase in salary anda 10% increase due to the guaranteed bonus. A total increase of 18% a year.

If you know a faculty or staff member at Western asks them about their salary increases.

I missed your response, almilligan, to a question I posed some time back. Did you respond? Forgive me if I missed it. I do miss things, but I am seriously interested in your answer. You have personally known administrations for decades, right? I'm not trying to make a point. I'm not being accusatory. I'm frankly interested. So here is my question again: What specific administration(s) at WNMU did you feel was (were) competent?

Glennen and Counts were fiscally competent in the sense that there were no financial emergencies during their time.

Overall competence would require the administration to set goals and methods to reach those goals endorsed by all the stakeholders. In that sense none of the administrations were competent. In a great many cases no goals were ever advertised by the administration. And in general the administrations kept their plans to themselfs.

A great deal of, I want to say effort except it was more talk than action, went to trying to keep enrollment up because until about 5 years ago state appropriations was closely tied to enrollment.

Innovations in education methods were not encouraged by any administration. For most of the time you could do whatever innovation you wanted as long as you didn't tell any administrator and it didn't cost anything.

It seems to me, higher education enrollment across the board has been artificially inflated largely by the No Child Left Behind Act. The result has churned out a profusion of advanced degrees for which there is no marketable employment producing epidemic numbers of Masters and PhD graduates holding outrageous student loans only to end up flipping burgers and bagging groceries. Having spent those many years chasing grades and degrees these now "left behind" grads missed the opportunity to learn how to hammer a nail or lay a brick. As a consequence our country faces a considerable and still growing shortage of skilled blue collar employees. This realty has opened doors for undocumented workers who do fill those jobs, driven up our overseas imports and reliance on offshore labor, and produced a surge of tech schools and tech programs I suspect we'll continue to see grow even more. At the same time, distant learning programs have not only developed to a point of real effectiveness, the cost of those classes has decreased to the extent that increasingly schools are offering them for little or no cost at all, even Ivy League schools are on board with this.

To me, the hand writing is on the wall here. What we're seeing in higher education is no different from what we saw in the Real Estate market; a bubble that's about to burst, the collapse of brick and mortar colleges and universities. Western is no more responsible for this situation than it is immune to it. The only real questions are when will this implosion actually ignite, and what will ascend out of the resulting debris pile?

On the local level, WNMU serves as a considerable employer and economic generator. When this looming downsizing in higher education hits what impact will Western's losses have on our local economy? Moreover, what should be underway now to prepare for that eventuality? I suspect strong collaboration between the school and our community will prove to be the single most important element in determining the outcome for both, and in that regard Western has maintained a long held reputation of isolationism which, from what I've observed, Joe Sheppard has taken decisive steps to overcome.

One potential saving grace in all this may be research which will always remain in demand and where university labs play a major role. It seems to me Sheppard has taken steps to boost that at WNMU as well, bringing the school from conducting basically no research to at least some and pursuing more. In any case what I'm suggesting is that higher education seems to be quickly going the way of the horse and buggy and that outcome, the effect of it on WNMU, and the resulting effect on Silver City, seem like topics worth discussing. In particular I keep wondering if I'm interpreting this all correctly? There's clearly people contributing to this thread that are far better connected with education and WNMU than I am. So how are you guys seeing this picture?

First: On-line courses are not cheaper than face to face. Western charges $30 a credit extra for undergraduate classes and $40 extra for graduate courses. So if you take a 3 credit class on-line it cost you about $100 more than if you took it in the classroom.

Second: Would you be surprised to know that the computer faculty at Western at one time had a multi year research contract with the National Security Agency? Shssssss don't tell anyone.

Western has a long history of research published in national research publications before the present administration. I'm going to name those I can remember and whose work I was familiar with, I'm sure I leaving people out, my memory isn't what it used to be, readers should feel free to add to the list:

Al, I have no reason to not accept your assertion that Western charges an additional $30 to $40/credit for their on-line courses. But what in the world does that have to do with my statement that distant learning programs are decreasing in cost to the extent of being free? I'm pointing out that there's a trend afoot toward a broad and increasing availability of free on-line courses driving a massive change in education. To that you're saying my facts are in error? Okay. A quick Google query on the search criteria <free online courses with certificate> produces 130,000,000 returns. Pardon me for not reading them all but I did peruse a few.

Here's a page with various on-line courses offered in History, Business, Math, and more. These are fully credited courses offered completely free. The article goes on to include a list of schools also offering free non-credited course. That list includes CMU, MIT, Tufts, UCB, UCI, Yale and more. http://study.com/articles/Universities_ ... urses.html

Here's a link to an entirely tuition free school called University Of The People. Maybe worth looking at for those would can't afford tuition and don't like the idea of student loans. http://www.uopeople.edu/

That's four pages out of Google's total returns leaving another 129,999,996 pages still to go, assuming my arithmetic is correct. Either way, can't we agree, it's a trend, there's a lot of free on-line classes being offered, these are the facts, there doesn't seem to be any error.

> Would you be surprised to know that the computer faculty at Western at one time had a multi year research contract with the National Security Agency?

Given the woefully minimal and pathetically out of date computer resources I saw at Western when I moved here in '03 I'd be beyond surprised, I'd be down right suspicious.

> Western has a long history of research published in national research publications,,, followed by a list of 15, presumably, PI's.

I stand by my original statement, that's "basically no research".

> Finally, don't confuse providing entertainment with collaboration.

Maybe I am confused. Where did I mention "entertainment"? I compared WNMU's past "isolationism" to its future "collaboration". But if I were to consider the value of entertainment as a means of reversing that long standing isolationism I'd first consider that most residents in SC have neither a direct professional nor academic relationship with WNUM. In that light, if Joe Sheppard is reaching out to them through entertainment channels, attracting them to the university environment through non-confrontational, non-intimidating entertaining means, I'd conclude that's really smart. Brilliant actually, and quite possibly the most realistic vehicle by which to establish that introduction. Thanks for bringing it to mind in that way.

What remains from all this is my core proposition that the higher education complex constitutes a bubble that's about to blow apart. If that's true, nothing happening at WNMU, and most definitely not Joe Sheppard's salary, is going to prevent it. I have no problem with someone saying my facts are in error, but please if you're going to make such a claim do try to provide a little more substance.

For what it is worth:The total compensation is around $350,000.1. What twenty other universities are compared when looking at these figures?2. How many of that other twenty are in SW NM, Arizona, Texas, other places that in some cases, such as for certain Federal Grants, are givenmore money because they are categorized as "frontier" locations?3. What are the problems in recruiting a suitable candidate for a "remote" or "frontier" location?4. Within the university/college community, who could tell us whether this is a "value" an "over valued compensation?" or "under valued compensation?"5. We formerly had a former, acknowledged retired CIA analyst and/or operative (Cold War I think he was acknowledged to be an operative in Europe, or perhaps, Latin America.). Anyone who knows anything about the recruitment practices of the CIA for recruiting potential long term agents, know that universities are often a prime recruiting station. This is particularly true for places such as this that may attract people the "Agency" wants ... i.e., Spanish speakers (fluent, native), who may be interested in labor relations; political science; economics; languages (multiple fluency); administration for colleges.Counts undoubtedly did plenty of "traveling" in the Post September 11 era, just for that reason.6. This guy may not have similiar bona fides.7. Rather than bitch about the cost ... we might also look at what a University does for us.8. Where the hell would WILL be if not for the University?9. How many middle income, liberal retirees have actually COME HERE, because of WILL?10. What is the value of all these "life long learners" in our community?11. What does the community gain with so many liberal, life long learners?12. What is their effect (if, coming here was in part because Silver City (at least) is seen as:a. Liberal politically;b. Has high standards so far as art is concerned;c. Like various dining out places;d. Have helped restore the Silco;e. May have been generous helpers of "Friends of the Library;"f. Are "green friendly" including water conservation; opposition to the diversion of the Gila; water restoration; wildlife restoration; hiking trail improvement; Nature Conservancy; aware of all kinds of weird stuff like whether digital water meters will leave us sterile and insane;g. Are very, very intelligent;h. Speak other languages than English;i. Will march in anti-war activities such as Grant County Peace Coalition when "bogus, bullshit wars" are started by missing village idiots such as George W. Bush, Jr?j. Support Native American causes;k. Support "Black Lives Matter" demonstrations;l. Even though I don't dig him, are Sandersistas;m. Support the history of potentially electing our FIRST WOMAN PRESIDENT ... Hillary, which I DO (we've only had 40+ white guys as Presidente;n. Children's Parks;o. New green spaces such as in front of Zyzergy;p. Chocolate festivals (I need that like getting shot again);q. The Blues Festival;r. Mimbres and Hot Springs Art Festivals;s. Stand up against crazies like the Oregon Siege fools and make it know, "not in Grant County, please!";t. Aren't going to dig, at all, the stupid idea of running ATVs down Bullard, Broadway, and in town like we are some kind of farm community;u. Work on trail restoration via Continental Divide Trail groups;v. Help maintain CDTs;w. Are rich in deep knowledge about life and to serve as mentors;x. What the hell ... I'm running out of stuff ... oh, yeah, football, tennis baseball, pickle ball, etc. (sports in general);y. Hindus, Buddhists, Catholics, Protestants, Mormons, atheists, agnostics, people into other forms of spirituality;z. Have at least one person who is an animal communicator (she talked to my cat as part of my helping her deal with my wife's death and we bonded at a far deeper level as sentient beings.So ... having a University is an important ... when focusing solely on the dough, I think we may miss something.Someone who comes into SW NM may or may not see this as the last job they have, or a stepping stone. WNMU could use some tougher teachers.Teachers who require some college level reading lists and won't tolerate whining ... oooooh. That's too much stuff to read!!!!So, let's look at the positives instead of just bitching about the cost.Maybe,bitching about the costs ALONE IS A VALID REASON TO WANT THE STATE TO REDUCE THE SALARY FOR PRESIDENTS.I don't know.I would like to know how we stack up against twenty similarly situated universities. Enough. As the Apaches say: enju.Latest article in the Independent, for what it is worth. Thank you for anyone who liked the article. More to come. People who said my Dearable Wife Dorothy was one of the finest people they'd ever met, and was certainly a wonderful smiler at the Silver City Library.Trying to help combat veterans of all wars with PTSD is one way I try to remember: we have one Party that sees wars everywhere and sees each potential new war zone as a place to send "boots on the ground." Easy to say. Harder to do.

Shepard was asked if he would take a pay cut. "If furloughs are part of our solution, I will take that cut along with everyone else. When Abe (Villarreal, marketing) gets a raise from the state, I don't. My salary is market-based. But I will walk the same walk as the other employees."

Looks like if Abe gets a raise President Shepard doesn’t expect one and if President Shepard gets a raise Abe doesn’t. Doesn’t matter how you say it Abe is getting the same salary now has he got in 2014 and President Shepard is getting $20,000 a year more than in 2014.

It doesn’t look like President Shepard is walking the same walk as the other employees. He has more money in his pocket weighing him down.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot post attachments in this forum